Your mission today? More calls!
I know we’re all sick of making calls, but they make a difference. Republican members of congress are feeling besieged, and Democrats are standing up to Trump more directly because of pressure from their base. That is, from us.
There are a lot of things to call about. Here are a couple of ideas:
SAY NO TO JEFF SESSIONS
Is your Senator on the Judiciary Committee? Find out here. If so, call as early as you can to tell them to vote against Jeff Sessions for Attorney General — the committee is scheduled to vote on him this morning!
SAY NO TO BETSY DEVOS
Is your Senator on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee? See here for a list of members. If your Senator is a Republican, tell them to vote against Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. She’s also up for committee vote this morning. If your Senator is a Dem, thank them for pledging to vote against her, as all Dems on the committee have done.
Also consider calling or Tweeting these Republicans, even if they’re not your Senators.
We only need 3 more votes to #StopDeVos! Call & tweet the following senators to vote against Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. pic.twitter.com/cT464fLbnF
— Women's March (@womensmarch) January 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/Diane_7A/status/826175944444542977
INVESTIGATE TRUMP’S RUSSIAN TIES
Congresswoman Maxine Waters has a plan:
I'm leading my colleagues in a press conference tomorrow at 8:30 am (ET). We are taking on @POTUS ties to Russia! We have a bill #resist
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) January 31, 2017
Ask your congressperson to support her!
THE MUSLIM BAN
Check out 5calls,org for a handy script to use when calling about the Muslim ban, as well as ideas for other issues to call about.
GIVE YOURSELF A BIG PAT ON THE BACK BECAUSE YOU ARE AWESOME
I did a wikipedia!
Canola (apparently) means “Canadian Oil, Low Acid”. It’s a group of cultivars of rapeseed that’s very popular, and was bred to be very low in an acid that may be harmful, and that prevents rapeseed from being used as animal feed. It’s a very important crop here – almost all of our vegetable oil is canola, and we export quite a bit.
Now you know! And I do too!
Today I tried to ring my local MP, Adam Bandt, to congratulate him for condemning the ban, but got his secretary instead. Nevertheless, she thanked me for the congratulation and said she’d pass it on to him. He’s hosting an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss what citizens of the countries listed by the ban residing in Australia should do, and if no protests take place that same weekend, I’ll attend the meeting. I asked whether it would be possible to discuss initiating some protests in Australia – and thereby motivating Turnbull to take people’s letters more seriously – at the meeting, and she said it would be.
I’ve also got some more ideas for people I could write to, but I’d like clarification as to whether they’re appropriate:
* The Australian ambassador to the US. To either congratulate them for condemning the ban if they have, or condemn them for not condemning the ban if they haven’t. I’m not sure, though, if ambassadors are allowed to comment on the policies of the countries they’re ambassadors to.
* The Queen. To ask her to break protocol and express political opinions just this once, owing to Trump’s particular odiousness, by condemning the ban and refusing to receive him. I suspect, though, that this would be completely futile unless literally millions of Commonwealth citizens similarly wrote to her.
* Obama, Clinton and Sanders. To tell them I’m still with them and ask them to not just retire, but rather to keeping fighting and lead the resistance against Trump. I suspect, though, that it’d be more effective/appropriate for Americans to do this.
What do people think?
@IP
Looks tasty!
@Scildfreja
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. I come for the misogyny mockery and the like-minded company. I always go away knowing more than when I came. And about such varied topics! Now I know about canola. Thank you.
(A few years ago, some one asked me “how do you know so much about so many things?” I’m still trying to find a polite way of saying “I read” – at the moment, I rely on “my brain is good at retaining inconsequential facts”.)
@ weatherwax
I must confess a fondness for the wonderfully snarky line in ‘Lake Placid’
“They hide information like that in books”
@Abars01
Re the Queen, I understand why you say it, but the only way as a Republican I can be comfortable with the continued monarchy is by her continued silence. On everything. But I believe you’ll enjoy what Charlie has been up to.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/31/lessons-holocaust-being-forgotten-prince-charles-world-jewish-relief
@Alan Robertshaw
Love it!
@Scildfreja
I knew it was another word for rapeseed oil, but didn’t know it was an abbreviation. Interesting! Also, am I the only one annoyed when people refer to canola oil as “grapeseed” oil?
The Saskatchewan town of Tisdale had “The Land of Rape and Honey” as its town motto/slogan until 2015, despite more than one attempt to change it. Rapeseed and canola are commonly grown in the area, and honey production is also a local staple. Supposedly Ministry’s album of the same name was inspired by someone in the band seeing the logo on a Tisdale souvenir cup. In August of 2016 Tisdale adopted the slogan “Opportunity Grows Here.”
There is such a thing as grapeseed oil. It’s another neutral oil. I use it all the time.
@tim gueguen
I’ve had some wine so I feel compelled to share with the world that my home town, Reading (pronounced like Otis, rather than literacy), 40 miles west of London, was known for Bulbs, Biscuits & Beer. The three major industries at one point were Sutton Seeds (a Quaker family), Huntley & Palmer (again, a Quaker business) and Courage brewery (no idea how they snuck in under the wire with all the teetotal Quakers; maybe the workers weren’t as convinced).
No clue why anyone needed to know that.
ETA Oh, and I went to Alfred Sutton Primary School. A name lost in the mist of history, except for the Seeds thing.
Hello, I’ve been lurking here for about a year now. I’ve enjoyed the mocking, the cats and other furry animals, and the enlightenment I have gained. I haven’t said anything, but reading through your posts at least reassures me that I am not alone in this nightmare. So thanks, to all of you, for that. I’ve struggled with shyness and social anxiety my whole life, but lately I have been trying to push myself out of my comfort zone and into action. I feel at this point, there is no choice but to speak up.
@LindsayIrene
Thank you for those fax links! I find it is much easier for me to speak out in written form than over a phone, yet I was worried that snail mail is too slow and emails are too easy to ignore. Harder to ignore a fax!
Something I do to keep my spirits up is read positive/uplifting political commentary. I’m a fan of John Scalzi’s and I’ve seen him linked here before, here are his first musings on Trump post-inauguration:
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2017/01/31/a-fortnight-of-trump/
He seems to believe that Trump is generating so much resistance in such a short time that there’s no way he’ll last four years. I took from it the idea that Trump is susceptible to fatigue just as much as we are, if not more so.
Vanity Fair is reporting that apparently, Steve Bannon is taking advantage of Jared Kushner and Ivanka’s devout observance of the Sabbath and goading Trump into implementing *his* agenda. Trump sure does seem more prone to tantrums in the early weekend.
@ IP
That looks, and sounds, amazing. I may have to copy you sometime because fried (faux)meat and potato balls are definitely something I need in my life right now.
@ Faerie Bard
What a wonderful nym! Welcome 🙂
I haven’t been able to make calls for a few days due to having a bad cold. I know it’s no sin and I need to take care of myself first, but I still feel like I’m letting the team down.
Heh, I grew up in the middle of Canola country… lots of fields outside Edmonton in the summer run bright yellow with canola and blue with flax. Didn’t hear about “rapeseed” until college.
The conversation about canola also reminded me a little of a political fic I was writing about two friends discussing morality over french fries.One of the two “briefly wondered what a canola was.”
(Sorry haven’t been around much, had a backslide into depression recently; the massive bolus of awful trump is forcing down America’s throat hasn’t been helping either)
Hate to bum anyone out more, but someone might like to know. John Wetton, bassist/vocalist for Asia, King Crimson, and UK, has died of cancer at 67. He was a tough guy, having also been dealing with heart problems and arm/shoulder problems that left his picking hand numb, but still gigging when he was able to.
whee, temperature of 103.3 degrees right now \o/ fortunately i tend to be pretty lucid throughout pain and illness, so it can be a good time for creative thinking.
(Just for the love of god do not ask me to math anything. I will prove P=NP by infinite regression, or something stupid like that)
@Faerie Bard, welcome! And please find your free-of-charge complimentary gift basket on the right. It is filled with scented candles. They smell like misandry!
Also welcome to anyone else new!
Take your me-time, everyone. Don’t feel bad for not contributing if you are unable to. The next couple of years are gona be rocky and chaotic, but your voices will be heard. I’m feeling like the progressives and democrats and liberals and lefties are gonna crush the House and the Senate in 2 years.
Also, someone somewhere posted a blog post from Scalzi, with a great point – Trump hates this. Odds are good that he may resign if you keep the pressure up. Or at least the odds are present.
Feeling frightened, but a little positive. Outcry isn’t letting up against the Trump administration. Keep calling, go to town halls, go to offices! You can do it guyse!
@Faerie Bard: Welcome! Have you had a welcome package yet? It’s over on the right, just under “Mammothy Fun” and above the mammoth picture!
@Scildfreja: I hope you feel better soon!
I feel like we can harangue Trump out of office, or at the very least make it not fun enough to run again, even though he’s already filed his candidacy for 2020. Which is Not Normal. I’m just worried that the momentum may die down if they lay off and lay low for a while.
EDIT: And if, heaven forbid, we have another 9/11, Trump’s support may skyrocket.
@Abars01 – that’s great! @Everybody, Just wanted to say hi and send a bit of encouragement.
Although I guess you folks are the encouraging ones. I’ve been a bit down lately because work is busy and I’m not fast at things. But that’s not a big deal. Xenophobic violence is a big deal, and the terrorist attack in Quebec City still is a shock – six people died and others were injured at a mosque shooting. The murderer was a white guy who targeted Muslims, but Fox News made an “innocent” mistake and reported that he was Moroccan.
Okay. That part I’m not surprised about. I was a bit upset at the Montreal Gazette, though, for putting the word “terrorist” in quotation marks in its headline on Monday. My father pointed out that this was exercising caution because the shooter’s motives weren’t confirmed – and it was a quote – but it gave me a “white people aren’t really terrorists” kind of vibe.
@Faerie Bard – Welcome!
@Scildfreja – Get better soon! The last time my temperature was that high, I felt dizzy whenever I stood up. It was not fun.
Thanks, everyone. I sent out a wave of faxes to my senators, focusing on DeVos and Sessions for today. I’m from a red state, so I’m not sure how much good it will do, but I have to try. At minimum I suppose I am helping to keep their fax lines tied up.
I have been depressed and angry on and off since the election, and it didn’t help that many of my family members voted for that man. I’m probably pissing some of them off by finally calling out their BS! It’s scary for me, but it also feels good.
I gotta do more self-care posts. It’s just hard not to react to Trump’s endless barrage of terrible shit.
Here’s a Twitter account that has a pretty sweet take on Trump’s signing ceremonies.
https://twitter.com/TrumpDraws
Scildfreja:
I had to look at the official definition from this source:
http://www.canolacouncil.org/oil-and-meal/what-is-canola/
Apparently at least three species in genus Brassica have these low acid oilseed cultivars, which were first developed around 1970. Before that, Brassica seed oils had only limited use.
AFAIK, by far most the common canola species worldwide is B. napus, botanically called rape (Swedish raps, Finnish rapsi). This species also has a root vegetable form known as swede or rutabaga.
Another important canola species in very cold areas is B. rapa, botanically called turnip rape (rybs, rypsi). In Finland any locally produced canola is usually sold by the name rypsi. This species also has a root vegetable form (turnip) and several leafy vegetable forms (“Chinese cabbages” such as pechai, pakchoi and mizuna).
(/botany geek)
Re: https://twitter.com/TrumpDraws
The short feathered vulgarian turkey is particularly wonderful.
To everyone who’s feeling a bit knackered by it all…
http://68.media.tumblr.com/6482d35cfb03a234254636b61592b877/tumblr_mifhaqhOB51qgpe60o1_540.jpg